Use of long-range weather forecasts in crop predictions

Farmers, commodities dealers, water managers, and others have long sought to forecast production of major crops through the use of models requiring some sort of weather input. Steady strides have been made recently in developing physiological models of crops such as wheat and rice. Such models should include daily minimum and maximum temperatures, precipitation, and solar radiation. Up to now, these crop models have generally beer used with past weather observations or statistical weather generators. This report inquires into whether meteorological forecasts can provide variables accurate enough to provide skillful crop predictions.